Getting started with computer-assisted qualitative data analysis

This chapter from Gibbs' (2007) Analyzing Qualitative Data, clearly describes the different options of using computers to assist with qualitative analysis and provides examples of the different types of software available to complete this task.

Gibbs (2007) describes how "[t]he use of technology has transformed qualitative data analysis in many ways. First, the introduction of mechanical recording equipment changed not just how qualitative data were collected but made possible new ways of analyzing it. The easy ability to get what seems like a complete record of interviews, conversations and suchlike made possible a much closer examination of what was being said and how it was expressed. Narrative, conversation and discourse analysis would all be extremely hard, if not almost impossible, without voice recording. However, since the mid-1980s the technology that has had the most impact on qualitative research has been the personal computer, initially in the development of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software (CAQDAS) and more recently in the introduction of digital technologies such as digital cameras and digital audio and video."

Contents

• Programs to assist with the qualitative analysis of data
• Preparing the data for introduction into the project
• New project
• Documents
• Coding